Huge turnout for 300 hotel jobs

Thousands of applicants turned out in hopes of snagging one of about 300 jobs at the soon-to-expand Peabody Orlando hotel on International Drive.

About 6,500 people came out for the hotel's four-day job fair, which ended Tuesday, said Alan Villaverde, managing director of Peabody Hotel Group.

"It was a pretty emotional experience for all of us," Villaverde said. "We saw firsthand how the economic downturn is affecting the residents of Orange County."

The hotel, next to the giant Orange County Convention Center, is beefing up its staff in preparation for the opening this fall of a $450 million expansion that will add 750 rooms as well as new meeting and convention space.

The jobs being offered range from positions in administration and accounting to work in the culinary arts, food service, guest services and housekeeping.

Hotel management will narrow the list of applicants and invite finalists back for follow-up interviews during the next two weeks, Villaverde said.